Attainment gap narrower ‘in more-deprived areas’

The attainment gap between pupils from poor backgrounds and their moreadvantaged peers is narrowest in deprived areas, a Tes Scotland analysis has shown.

And some of the most deprived parts of Scotland are significantly outperforming the most affluent areas when it comes to the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

The data comes from a benchmarking tool set up by councils that places local authorities into four “family groups”, based on their deprivation levels.

At the more affluent end of the scale is a group containing East Dunbartonshire; East Renfrewshire; Edinburgh; Aberdeen; Perth and ...

How disadvantaged pupils perform in Scotland

There is “a strong, positive, statistically significant relationship” between deprivation and improving school attainment in Scotland which is “a really important and impressive outcome”, a recent benchmarking report found.

The Improvement Service – the national improvement organisation for councils in Scotland – in conjunction with local authorities, is responsible for compiling data so that councils can track performance.

Each qualification attained by a pupil in Scotland is awarded tariff points based on its Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework level.

Overall, the average tariff score achieved by school-leavers in Scotland improved by about 14 per cent between 2012 and 2016, according to the National Benchmarking Overview Report 2015-16, rising from 770 to 875.

Meanwhile the average tariff score achieved by the most disadvantaged pupils improved by 25.5 per cent, going from 478 to 600.

That improving picture was replicated in the data on the number of passes pupils were achieving at the equivalent of National 5 and Higher, the reportcontinued.

There was, however, still “a very substantial gap” between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and average attainment of pupils overall, it said.

But, the report argued, “there will always be an ‘attainment gap’ if pupils make different post-school choices and “require different school-based attainment to access them”.

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